{"id":3784,"date":"2026-10-27T17:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gameteam.io\/blog\/beamng-drive-dedicated-server-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T17:10:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:10:02","slug":"beamng-drive-dedicated-server-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gameteam.io\/blog\/beamng-drive-dedicated-server-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a BeamMP Server for BeamNG.drive: Setup, AuthKey, Ports, Mods and Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

To make a BeamMP server, download BeamMP-Server for Windows or Linux, run it once so it creates ServerConfig.toml<\/code>, paste in an AuthKey from the BeamMP Keymaster, and open port 30814 on both TCP and UDP.<\/strong> Your friends then join through BeamMP’s Direct Connect tab, or find you in the server list once you set Private = false<\/code>. Below: every step of the setup, then mods, maps, console commands and the connection errors people actually hit.<\/p>\n

What a BeamMP server actually does<\/h2>\n

BeamNG.drive has no official multiplayer. BeamMP is the community mod that adds it, and BeamMP-Server is the program every player connects through. It passes car and chat data between players and hands out the server’s mods when someone joins. Each player’s own game still runs the driving physics, which is why the server itself needs so little, and why a busy lobby hits players’ PCs before it hits the server.<\/p>\n

There are three ways to get a group onto the same map:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nPublic BeamMP servers<\/th>\nYour own server at home<\/th>\nA rented server<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Cost<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\nFree (your PC and its power)<\/td>\nPaid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Your map, mods and rules<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Port forwarding<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\nYes, 30814 TCP and UDP<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Up when you’re offline<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\nOnly while your PC is on<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Private, friends only<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The rest of this page is the middle column: hosting it yourself. If you want the right-hand column, BeamNG.drive with BeamMP server hosting<\/a> skips steps 2 to 4.<\/p>\n

BeamMP server requirements<\/h2>\n

The BeamMP team’s own minimum is tiny: 50 MiB of free RAM, a CPU above 1 GHz and no GPU, on Windows or Linux. What decides whether your server runs well is upload bandwidth (BeamMP asks for 5\u201310 Mb\/s), the size of the mod folder you serve, and a public IPv4 address that players can reach. At home you also need a router that lets you forward ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Requirement<\/th>\nBeamMP’s stated minimum<\/th>\nWhat to plan for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
RAM<\/td>\n50+ MiB usable<\/td>\nMore for every mod zip and plugin you load. On GameTeam, 4 GB covers a stock or lightly modded server.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CPU<\/td>\nAbove 1 GHz, preferably multicore<\/td>\nAny modern CPU.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OS<\/td>\nWindows or Linux<\/td>\nWindows needs the Visual C++ Redistributable. Debian and Ubuntu need liblua5.3-0<\/code>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Disk<\/td>\n10 MiB plus mods and plugins<\/td>\nRoom for every zip in Resources\/Client<\/code>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Upload<\/td>\n5\u201310 Mb\/s<\/td>\nMore with a big mod pack: every player who joins downloads it from your server.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Network<\/td>\nIPv4<\/td>\nIPv6 isn’t supported for hosting yet.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Every player needs a legitimate, up-to-date copy of BeamNG.drive and the BeamMP launcher from beammp.com. BeamMP doesn’t work with pirated or outdated versions of the game.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Get your BeamMP AuthKey<\/h2>\n

The AuthKey, BeamMP’s auth key, ties your server to your BeamMP account. It’s what puts a server in the public list, and BeamMP-Server won’t stay running without one: it logs “No AuthKey specified” and closes after 10 seconds. Keys are free from keymaster.beammp.com with a Discord login, and one key runs one server at a time.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Log in to the BeamMP Keymaster<\/a> with your Discord account.<\/li>\n
  2. Click Keys<\/strong> on the left.<\/li>\n
  3. Click the green +<\/strong> button in the top right.<\/li>\n
  4. Type a Server Name<\/strong>. This only labels the key for you; it isn’t the name in the server list. Click Create<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  5. Click the clipboard icon next to the Key<\/strong> field to copy it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Treat the key like a password. Don’t post it in a Discord channel, and blur it in screenshots. If it leaks, open an Account Support ticket on the BeamMP Discord server<\/a>. Need keys for more than one server? Supporting BeamMP on Patreon adds keys, and boosting the BeamMP Discord adds five.<\/p>\n

    Step 2: Download BeamMP-Server<\/h2>\n

    The BeamMP server download is free: click Download Server<\/em> on beammp.com, or grab it from the BeamMP-Server GitHub releases page<\/a>. The latest release as of October 2026 is v3.9.3. It ships a Windows BeamMP-Server.exe<\/code> and Linux builds for Debian 12 and 13 and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, each for x86_64 and arm64.<\/p>\n

    On Windows<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Install the Visual C++ Redistributable<\/a> (x64).<\/li>\n
    2. Download BeamMP-Server.exe<\/code> and put it in a folder of its own. This folder is your server.<\/li>\n
    3. Double-click it once. As soon as text appears, close it. It has now created its files.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      On Linux<\/h3>\n

      Download the build that matches your distro and CPU, then:<\/p>\n

      sudo apt install liblua5.3-0\nmkdir ~\/beammp && cd ~\/beammp\n# move the downloaded build into this folder, then:\nchmod +x BeamMP-Server.ubuntu.24.04.x86_64\n.\/BeamMP-Server.ubuntu.24.04.x86_64<\/code><\/pre>\n
      Stop it once it prints text. BeamMP recommends running the server as its own user, for example beammpserver<\/code>, never as root or your personal account. Other distros can build from source: clone the repo with git clone --recursive<\/code> and check out a release tag, because master<\/code> is unstable.<\/p>\n
      Which server files you get<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      File or folder<\/th>\nWhat it’s for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      ServerConfig.toml<\/code><\/td>\nEvery setting: key, name, map, player and car limits.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Server.log<\/code><\/td>\nA copy of the console output. It never contains your AuthKey, so it’s safe to share when asking for help.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Resources\/Client<\/code><\/td>\nMod zips that players download when they join. Zips only.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Resources\/Server<\/code><\/td>\nServer-side Lua plugins, one folder per plugin.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      These files are created in the folder you start the server from, not wherever the executable happens to live.<\/p>\n
      Step 3: Set up ServerConfig.toml<\/h2>\n
      Open ServerConfig.toml<\/code> in a text editor such as Notepad. Paste your AuthKey between the quotes, give the server a name, and pick a map. Leave Private = true<\/code> while you test. Everything sits under [General]<\/code>. Save the file, start the server again, and check that it stays open without [ERROR]<\/code> or [WARN]<\/code> lines.<\/p>\n
      [General]\nAuthKey = \"paste-your-key-here\"\nName = \"^lMy BeamMP Server\"\nDescription = \"Stock cars^pBe nice at the start line\"\nPrivate = true\nPort = 30814\nMaxPlayers = 8\nMaxCars = 2\nMap = \"\/levels\/west_coast_usa\/info.json\"\nTags = \"Freeroam,Racing\"\nResourceFolder = \"Resources\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Key<\/th>\nWhat it does<\/th>\nDefault<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      AuthKey<\/code><\/td>\nYour key from the Keymaster. Required.<\/td>\nempty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Name<\/code><\/td>\nName in the server list. ^l<\/code> bold, ^o<\/code> italic, ^0<\/code>\u2013^9<\/code> and ^a<\/code>\u2013^f<\/code> colours, ^r<\/code> reset.<\/td>\nBeamMP Server<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Description<\/code><\/td>\nText under the name. ^p<\/code> starts a new line.<\/td>\nBeamMP Default Description<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Private<\/code><\/td>\ntrue<\/code> hides the server from the list.<\/td>\ntrue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Port<\/code><\/td>\nPort for TCP and UDP, anywhere from 1024 to 65535.<\/td>\n30814<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      MaxPlayers<\/code><\/td>\nPlayers at once. No upper limit is set.<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      MaxCars<\/code><\/td>\nCars per player. Extra spawns are deleted instantly.<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Map<\/code><\/td>\nMap path ending in \/info.json<\/code>.<\/td>\n\/levels\/gridmap_v2\/info.json<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Tags<\/code><\/td>\nComma-separated search tags.<\/td>\nFreeroam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      AllowGuests<\/code><\/td>\nLets guests (players not logged in to BeamMP) join.<\/td>\ntrue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      LogChat<\/code><\/td>\nWrites chat to Server.log<\/code>.<\/td>\ntrue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Debug<\/code><\/td>\nExtra log detail for troubleshooting. Makes the log much bigger.<\/td>\nfalse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      IP<\/code><\/td>\nLocal address to bind to. Not your public IP; leave it alone.<\/td>\n::<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      Running in Docker or on a panel? Since v3.2.0 every [General]<\/code> setting can also come from an environment variable, which overrides the file: BEAMMP_AUTH_KEY<\/code>, BEAMMP_MAX_PLAYERS<\/code>, BEAMMP_MAP<\/code> and so on.<\/p>\n
      Step 4: Port forwarding for a BeamMP server<\/h2>\n
      Players outside your home reach your server through port 30814, and BeamMP needs that port open on both TCP and UDP. Forward both on your router to the PC running the server, then allow BeamMP-Server through the firewall for incoming and outgoing traffic. On a VPS, or with players only on your home network, you can skip port forwarding.<\/p>\n
        \n
      1. Give the server PC a fixed local IP<\/strong>, with a DHCP reservation on the router or a static IPv4 address in Windows. Otherwise the rule breaks when the PC’s address changes.<\/li>\n
      2. Log in to your router.<\/strong> Run ipconfig<\/code>, and type the Default Gateway<\/em> address into a browser.<\/li>\n
      3. Add the rule<\/strong> under Port Forwarding (often in Network, Advanced or LAN): port 30814, TCP and UDP, to the server PC’s local IP.<\/li>\n
      4. Allow it through the firewall.<\/strong> On Windows, add an allow rule for BeamMP-Server.exe<\/code>, inbound and outbound, TCP and UDP. Turning the firewall off usually doesn’t help.<\/li>\n
      5. Test it<\/strong> with BeamMP’s CheckBeamMP tool on the server setup page<\/a>, while the server is running.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        Can you host a BeamMP server without port forwarding?<\/h3>\n
        Not for players outside your home. BeamMP doesn’t support Hamachi, RadminVPN or similar VPNs, because they often fail to pass UDP traffic. Forwarding is also impossible on mobile 4G\/5G connections and behind CGNAT. To check for CGNAT, compare the WAN IP in your router with your public IP: if they differ, you’re behind it. Your options then are asking your ISP for a dedicated IPv4, a VPS, or a hosted server.<\/p>\n
        Step 5: Start the server and connect<\/h2>\n
        Start BeamMP-Server and leave the window open. Then launch BeamNG.drive through the BeamMP launcher and open the Direct Connect<\/strong> tab. Which address you type depends on where the server runs and where the player is. Public servers can also be found by name in the server list.<\/p>\n